Southeast Asia forum

First time traveller help and advice please :-) Route/places to see?

Christine27

newbie
Posts: 1

Hi,

I’m currently planning my trip around SE Asia and would appreciate anyone’s comments… never been travelling before so would be helpful to know if I’m spending too much/too little in each place. Also, if there’s anywhere I should definitely include in my trip that I have missed out…

11th Dec- Arrive in Bangkok early
15th Dec- Travel down to South Thailand & Islands. Krabi, Phuket , Phi Phi islands, Ko Lanta, Ko Tao
Not sure where to spend Christmas or if we should book somewhere over Christmas before we leave?
28th Dec-2nd Jan- Koh Phangan- Full moon party. We have already booked to stay at Cookies for the minimum of 5 nights.
2nd Jan-3rd Jan- Travel across to Phuket to catch a flight to Singapore
3rd Jan- 6th Jan- Singapore
6th Jan-10th Jan- Kuala Lumpur
10th Jan- Flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia
10th Jan- 16th Jan- Cambodia. Phonom Penh, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat
16th Jan- 4th Feb- Vietnam. Start at Ho Chi Min City and travel north. Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi and Halong Bay.
4th Feb- 17th Feb- North Laos. Luang Prabung, Vang Vieng, Vientiane.
17th Feb- 27th Feb- North Thailand. Chaing Mai.
27th Feb-1st March- Travel down to Bangkok to catch flight home on the 1st March.

None of this is set in stone so any help/comments are very welcome!

Thanks!

#1 Posted: 14/9/2010 - 18:22
Captain_Bob

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Posts: 950
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I would skip the east coast (Ko Tao) initially and stay with the west coast islands and beaches in December. Don't worry too much about finding a room around Christmas, just avoid PhiPhi at that time as it's mad-busy. Lanta's a good bet for Christmas - lively enough but not overly crowded, especially the southern half (Klong Jak is a great little escape beach). The full moon is Dec-21st but anyway I guess KPG/Had Rin is the place to be for a certain age group on New Years, and anyway you've already booked (Cookies is a good choice). Otherwise, again, I'd just stick with the west coast.
I also would skip the flight to Singapore - a busy modern expensive city, good for shopping and blowing your travel budget but not much else. Instead I'd head straight down to Trang (train from Surat Thani) and get out to Ko Lipe (southernmost Thai island) and hop over to Ko Adang or other Tarutao group islands. Then get the Tigerline ferry http://www.tigerlinetravel.com to Langkawi (Malaysia) and head to Cenang Beach for a couple days. Ferry to Penang (guesthouses on Chulia street) and then grab a bus/train to KL.

The Air Asia flight KL to Phnom Penh is a huge time-saver, good idea! A week shared between Angkor and PP then 3 weeks in Vietnam, check. I'd consider a flight from Hanoi to Vientiane (otherwise long painful bus journey). The rest of your plan looks fine.

#2 Posted: 17/9/2010 - 15:11
goonistik

adventurer
Posts: 326

I have to agree with Captain Bob about Singapore. The only thing I like about Singapore are the hawker stalls. I consider Singapore one of the best eating cities in SEA. But you can get Nonya cooking in Malaysia. Singapore is expensive so better to skip it if you can. The time and money can be spent somewhere else.

#3 Posted: 17/9/2010 - 19:33